Byron Temple, Romantic Pragmatist   1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      -      PRINTER VERSION

>> tried to discourage him because he didn't think Temple could make a living doing handmade pottery. There simply was no one, at that time, doing what he wanted to do, Reichle told him. He offered his help in getting Temple accepted to Alfred, Reichle¼s alma mater, where they taught industrial production. Temple, though, was stubborn. His discovery, Bernard Leach's A Potters Book with its romantic account of a potter's life, greatly influenced his decision. He was not, however, totally reliant on Leach's portrait of that life, when he was growing up, there were two widows living on either side of his family farm, one made her living doing hand woven rugs while the other widow did ceramic figurines. He felt that if they could survive by making a living with their hands in a male oriented agrarian society then he certainly could. His approach was one of romantic pragmatism.

In 1953 he moved to New York City to study at the Brooklyn Museum School under Hui, Ka-Kwong. During his first summer there he went to Haystack Mountain School where he met Jack Lenor Larsen and Anni Albers, both of who were making their livelihood from their work. At the end of the summer Larsen offered him a job. It was while working for Larsen that Temple learned the intricacies of the business and marketing side of craft. He took orders, kept schedules and supervised shipments for Larsen. In 1955 he was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany as an MP. He eventually found the base's craft shop, which had a heavy wooden kick wheel. He bought German clay and had a friend translate the German names of chemicals for him so that he could make glaze. It was while he was overseas in the Army that he made his first visit to the Leach pottery in St. Ives. He didn't see Leach or talk to anyone at the pottery; he just remembered that he felt compelled to make the trip. After his discharge in 1957 he returned to work for Larsen, but soon moved to Chicago where he took a position at the Art Institute of Chicago as a technician in the ceramics department and worked part-time as an elevator operator. His dream was still to make production pottery, but felt he needed more training and experience. He decided to write Leach seeking an apprenticeship. Leach replied saying that he was preparing for a trip to the United States to conduct workshops and invited Temple to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was doing a workshop at the University of Michigan. Temple boarded a Greyhound bus for Ann Arbor with a bag of pots. When he arrived he was told the workshop was only for enrolled students and was asked to leave. Eventually he caught up with Leach at his hotel and after some discussion he was accepted as an apprentice thrower at the Leach pottery.

Temple arrived at St. Ives in 1959. The years he was to spend at the Leach pottery would, in some ways, be the most important years of his professional life. There were, of course, many significant events throughout his life, but those years at St. Ives defined and shaped everything that came after. Temple thrived on the pottery's disciplined work routines and enjoyed its rhythm, the making, glazing and firing cycles and described his time there as an incredible physical experience. Leach, who was at the pottery most every day during Temple's stay, gave him numerous books to read on the history of pottery and held informal discussions around the large fireplace about pottery and it's role in culture. Leach was, Temple said, totally selfless when it came to teaching. He was always available and would often sit for hours arguing with the apprentices about the placement of a handle. Leach wrote an article entitled "Ceramics—Now the Best Art Buy", for the American magazine House Beautiful during Temple's stay at St. Ives. It is of particular interest because it gives us insight to what Leach was think-
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